primary endorsements
JoelUpdate 3:56pm: Indies can vote in the primary in non-partisan races - thanks Jim.
On September 5 - just one month from now - Florida will hold its primary elections.
We here at Sticks of Fire endorse the following:
- Vote
- Use your brain
Indies such as myself will have to wait until after Florida’s closed primary for the major races (though we can participate in equally important non-partisan races - thanks to Jim Johnson for the correction), but all of you with Rs and Ds on your registration cards will have the opportunity to choose which candidate is best suited to represent your party at the Novemeber 7 general election.
If you need some perspective on precisely how important the primaries are, consider some bizarro general election scenarios:
- Gore v. Quayle in 2000 presidential
- Bush Sr. v. Tsongas in 1992 presidential
- A winner v. Harris in 1998 FL secretary of state
As for voting smart, there’s little excuse. You have:
- A short list of Florida political blogs
- Two lists of Florida campaign sites
- Many a major or alternative newspaper with both print and online versions - you can start with our local ones
- A local cable channel (with a website for those without Bright House) committed to making state politics readily available to more than just insiders.
- A computer with internet connection
- Fingers
That should get you started.
But don’t just keep it all to yourself. Get the conversation started. Rile up your family, friends, neighbors, and fellow blog readers. Put those comment functions on blogs to good use, ours included. Take it from me - it’s fun to be heard.
One month until the primaries; three months until the general.
Get to work.
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August 4th, 2006 at 9:20 am
I realize I’m a political nerd, so I probably go overboard when it comes to reading about candidates. Still, I amazed at how little people know about the various candidates running for office. This ignorance (or is it apathy?) is especially troubling on the local level. I would guess that most Floridians could not name their State Senator, State Representative and county commissioners. And those are the elected officials who make the decisions that hit closest to home.
Your endorsements are right on the mark!
August 4th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Amen to that, Bob. I’m always amazed at how apathetic folks are. The fact that it’s an “off-year” election doesn’t make it any less important. 2006 is a big deal, especially for Floridians with a Senate race and Governor’s race in full swing. Not to mention all the local races. And it’s all a lead-up to 2008 which will be one of the biggest presidential election years we’ve seen in some time.
August 4th, 2006 at 11:39 am
Joel, Don’t forget that independents CAN vote in the primary for non-partisan races: school board and judges. There is no reason for independent voters to stay home on September 5th.
You have provided a good list of ways that voters can educate themselves. I would add the following:
1) Read every piece of direct mail you get from campaigns and 527s. Direct mail can contain spin, but it also gives voters an idea of what is important to each candidate.
(NOTE: Campaigns use your voter history to determine if a voter is likely to vote again. So, if a voter has never voted in a primary before, he or she will likely not receive direct mail.)
One easy way to get at least one piece of mail from every candidate is to request an absentee ballot. Every campaign gets the list of voters who ask for absentee ballots every day and mails at least one piece of mail to those voters.
2) Consider voting EARLY or by ABSENTEE. Voters in the primary can start voting August 21st. I compiled a list of early voting sites on my blog. Early voting makes it a heck of a lot easier, as there will be shorter lines and most places have Saturday hours.
3) Watch for campaigns that go door-to-door. Most campaigns do “precinct walks” where the candidate and volunteers actually knock of the doors of voters to hand out information.
(NOTE: Again, campaigns have limited time so they don’t knock on every door. They use party registration and voting history to compile a list of voters on whose doors they should knock.)
August 4th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Thanks, Jim. The correction has been made.
Were you ever certain you wrote something when in fact you never did? A cautionary tale against late-night posting.
August 5th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
Having been in Las Vegas for two weeks, I’ve sort of forgotten that I had to register as a party member to be able to vote in the primary. What a horrendous idea, and yet another one that carries on the fine American tradition of doing whatever is necessary to prevent people from voting.
Back in Ohio, you simply stated your party on primary day and they handed you the appropriate ballot. Oh, wait, but we don’t have paper ballots in Florida; those are too easy to count consistently.
Dozens of nations around the world use pen and paper ballots. They have much better voter turnout, too, and don’t have the controversies we do here (Mexico the exception, though if you don’t think the U.S. had anything to do with pushing through the aGENda they wanted, you crazy).
August 22nd, 2006 at 9:31 am
[...] We asked that everyone do their homework on the candidates. I’d love to hear what everyone has learned - I’ll get everyone started with a few things I found out in the last two weeks. [...]
January 30th, 2008 at 4:29 am
What do you mean ?